Current efforts to improve pain alleviation focus on non-opioid pharmaceuticals. Intravenous
perioperative corticosteroid administration has been suggested as an alternative method for
post-operative pain control. The evidence regarding perioperative intravenous corticosteroids
to help alleviate post-operative pain is mixed. Some meta-analyses report decreased opioid
consumption and decreased pain intensity after a variety of surgical procedures. However, a
study of larger orthopedic procedures found no benefit. The catabolic and immunosuppressant
effects of corticosteroids also pose issues with wound healing and infection, which can have
severe consequences after spine surgery. There is limited data on the effect of perioperative
intravenous steroid administration on pain alleviation in children having surgery to address
spine deformity. A recent retrospective review demonstrated that perioperative corticosteroid
administration was associated with a statistically significant decrease in opioid medication
utilization among children and adolescents after spinal deformity surgery. While not
increasing the risk of postoperative complications. The investigators hypothesize that the
administration of perioperative intravenous dexamethasone will demonstrate a clinically
meaningful and statistically significant decrease in postoperative pain intensity, need for
opioid medications, time to ambulation, and length of stay in children recovering from
surgery for spine deformity.